What's Going On With Personalised Registration LEW 1S?

I've been reading with interest the reports of Lewis Hamilton and the LEW 1S number plate he's supposed to have bought.

Now, allegedly, Hamilton denies buying the plate, thoughtfully adding a bit of a snub towards number plates - something along the lines of: "why would anyone want to actually buy a number plate?".

However there must have been some truth in the story because both The Telegraph and ITV posted news articles stating that Hamilton had bought the personalised number plate, for the grand sum of £200,000.

Fellow number plate dealers have released a good number of press articles relating to the number plate story. One in particular proposes that the purchase was in fact a ruse masterminded by the private owner of the registration, property tycoon Bob Lewis, designed to generate hype and interest in the number plate by riding on the back of Lewis's fame.

Whatever the truth is - it's actually a fantastic number plate for Lewis! But, as with most things in life, there's always room for improvement.

National Numbers are now taking pre-orders for previously unreleased F registrations. This is the last big prefix release so Lewis had better move fast (although I'm sure that won't be a problem!).

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, 23, born January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, whose latest win was the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix, could pre-order the fast and furious F registration F1 LEW, or F1 LDH, both a nice way to combine the significance of Lewis's career and his name / intitals in one registration!

Or how about a search which will hunt through ALL the 30 million registrations we have on our database? LEW 7S is a quality number plate in these results, or he could just browse all Lewis number plates.

There are so many ways to find what you're looking for. Don't be afraid to search for absolutely anything! The search really is that powerful and easy-to-use! Try our Number Plates Search yourself now!

Number Plate Aficionados Prone to Road Rage

Research by social psychologist William Szlemko at Colorado University has proven that drivers who sport car accessories such as personalised number plates, furry dice, and bumper stickers are more likely to suffer symptoms of road rage.

Amusingly, the greater the number of "territorial markers" a driver possesses in connection with their vehicle, the more likely it is that they will respond in an inappropriate manner to others' on the road.

Szlemko says: "Just the presence of territory markers predicts the tendency to be an aggressive driver."

Szlemko's co-author, Paul Bell, agrees: "Territoriality is hard-wired into our ancestors from tens of thousands of years ago. Animals are territorial because it had survival value. If you could keep others away from your hunting groups, you had more game to spear ... it becomes part of the biology."

If you're a territorial kind of person, number plates are certainly one of the best ways to personalise your car. Road rage? Your choice!

The End of the Road for Big Cars?

You may have read or seen on the news recently the stories reporting the slump in sales of vehicles dubbed "Chelsea Tractors" - the 4x4 and sports type vehicles that usurp fuel during outings to the nearest retail park or supermarket.

Sales of the fuel-hungry guzzlers dropped 18 percent last month, according to the Financial Times, whilst sales of small economical cars have rocketed. Whether or not the shift is a temporary state remains to be seen.

The reasons for the demise of the big car may not be as selfless as first appears - most drivers' cite financial reasons over green concerns. With the ever-increasing hike in fuel prices, this comes as no surprise.

Perhaps Chelsea Tractor engines will be replaced by new, petrol-free alternatives such as the electric Range Rover engine being developed by newly-formed company, Liberty Electric Cars.

Clearly, sales of big cars are dwindling, but what will this downturn mean for sales of personalised registrations? Will National Numbers take fewer sales of BIG plates; see a drop in JAG and BMW registrations and an increase in Smart and Ford searches?

Smart experienced the highest percent increase in sales, which were up 147% - and for good reasons - made by Mercedes Benz and highly personalised, the car is one of the most economical on the market.

Small cars are fun, affordable, and great for showing off a fantastic new personalised registration. If you own a small car it's possible you might want to customise it with a new number plate.

You can search for anything that's important to you on National Numbers web site - try it with your name, initials, or pet.

We also keep a list of registrations for vehicle makes and models. And if you can't find what you want on the web site - give our friendly sales staff a call on 01642 363738 - we'd be really happy to help!

Goodbye Yee and Ashley!

Today sees the sad departure of two staff members, Yee and Ashley, who are off to travel the world over the summer holidays before returning to University in the autumn.

The two have brightened the National Numbers office for a year whilst undertaking work experience as part of their degree courses.

Everyone at National Numbers wishes them the best of luck (and fun!) with their travels and studies over the next year.

Two plates for Yee and Ashley:

Good luck girls!

Ronaldo’s Dream Plate – and Other Star Stories

In the Sunday news this week was a story about Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, who's got himself in a spin over the private registration CR 7.

Millionaire property tycoon Charlie Robinson currently owns the registration, and Ronaldo may well pay the £175,000 Robinson is asking for the registration plate - the number features not only Ronaldo's initials, but also his favourite shirt number and the name of his fashion store in Funchal. He's even planning the launch of a nightclub bearing the CR 7 name - talk about branding!

Despite Ronaldo's enthusiasm, the plate means a lot to Robinson who said, "that registration plate is close to my heart and I won't be letting it go easily". Robinson though is willing to relinquish rights to the cherished number in exchange for the registration CR 1.

Ronaldo isn't the only celeb who loves personalised number plates. Many stars have invested in unique and interesting number plates that match their professions - one such celebrity is Toyah Willcox. National Numbers brochure features an interview with the legendary Toyah, who talks to us about investing in number plates and her fantastically varied career. If you don't yet have a copy, bag your free number plate brochure now!

The magician and entertainer Paul Daniels owns a registration that speaks for itself: MAG 1C.

Funny man Jimmy Tarbuck owns COM 1C, which fits brilliantly.

The personalised reg S8 RRY is owned by ex Take That band member and solo artist Robbie Williams – the "sorry" registration was a message to fans to explain the purchase of his very expensive car. He later ended up buying a moped!

Amstrad founder and The Apprentice star Sir Alan Sugar owns AMS 1 – which is absolutely perfect for his name and all of his business ventures.

Even her Highness Queen Elizabeth 2nd owns a private registration - A7 - a stately mark, fit for a Queen, and issued in London in 1903.

Dateless registrations like these really are the cream of the crop when it comes to the most personal of personalisations – why not try a search for your own star plate? National Numbers Dateless Number Plates page or our Number Plates Search showcase millions of potentials – give them a whirl!

Free Gun with Every Car from US Dealership

A car dealership in the US is giving customers a free gun with every purchase of a new car - a move that has seen sales quadruple since the offer began. For those who have no need for firearms, a $250 petrol card alternative is offered alongside the gun – to date most customers have plumped for the latter.

Max Motors owner Mark Muller told the BBC "we're just damn glad to live in a free country where you can have a gun if you want to."

Amusingly – the logo of Max Motors, whose car dealership is in the US Midwest in Butler, Missouri – features an angry looking gun-toting cowboy. The outlet sells, amongst others, cars from Ford and Chrysler.

The offer is running until the end of the month - but highlights the requirement for an approved background check on gun ownership.

The dealership, whose slogan is God, Guns and Gas, say they are aware of the gasoline and crime problem in America, and want to be part of the solution and not the problem.

Whilst National Numbers can't offer something as exotic as a free gun with every number plate, we do guarantee to beat any other dealer's price on our range of millions of personalised registrations. Here's just a few to satisfy the inner cowboy/cowgirl inside.

Y88 HAA "Yeehaa!"
MY51 GUN "My Gun"
R16 NCH "Ranch"
RAN 50N "Ranson"
HH07 RSE "Horse"

Happy Birthday, Dear Gwen!

Gwen, one of National Numbers longest serving members of staff, is celebrating her birthday today.

We know a lady never reveals her true age, so here's a subtle but much deserved ...

Ode To Gwen

Gwen, Gwen, you're such a gem
Out of ten we give you ten
You fill the office with orange zen
And you're so much wiser, than three wise men!

Happy birthday Gwen!

Here are some Gwen number plates that could've been made for you:

Number Plates for Gwen:

Two Birthdays to Celebrate Today!

First up is Andrea, who hits the big forty today! Many happy returns Andrea!

It's also Craig's birthday today, although his age is totally undisclosed. Happy Birthday Craig! :)

We've had a lot of birthdays this week: with Eric, Ed, Andrea, and Craig all notching up an extra year. What is it with February? All I can say is they're very lucky their birthdays don't fall on the 29th, or else they'd only be having one every four years! And then there'd be far less cake making its way around the office, for the leap year (or intercalary year, as it's known by those in the right circles) is a measure taken to keep the calendar year synchronised with the astronomical or seasonal year, and normally consists of a year containing one or more extra days which of course only come round once every four years.

Our birthday bunch all fall under the astrological sign of Pisces – symbolised by two fish: one facing upwards, the other downwards - mirroring their dual pathway in life. Pisces is ruled by the element water and the planet Neptune.

As for numerology, the number 2 is a very powerful number for Pisces (presumably down to their dual personality): think Saint and Sinner rolled into one. According to the Psychic Guild, Pisces is a trendsetter when it comes to art or fashion; a lost soul, a philosopher, a psychotic and a visionary.

So, they're quite unique then! – Here are some February-type number plate suggestions for our brilliant birthday colleagues!

2 Number Plates
Pisces Number Plates
Water Number Plates
Neptune Number Plates

As you can see, you really can search our web site for anything! Try for yourself with our intelligent number plates search and bag yourself a number plate worth celebrating!

Happy Birthday Ed!

Birthday wishes today go out to Ed, National Numbers' Office Manager/Database Administrator/Second-In-Command.

Ed sports a great registration on his car: TO02 FAR - a witty millennium/new style registration which has raised many a smile in its time!

Happy Birthday Eduardo!!

If you hanker after an eyebrow-raising personalised registration for your vehicle, don't hesitate to search for ANY word on our web site using our Number Plates Search. Its ingenious search facility hunts our vast database for ANY word, and words similar to it - give it a go!

Happy Birthday Eric!

The Chairman of National Numbers, Eric, is celebrating his birthday today. His age is a figure shrouded by a degree of uncertainty - however, he has been heading up National Numbers for about 28 years, and previously worked in engineering for chemical giant ICI, so we can safely say he's been around long enough to know his stuff.

The perfect plate for Mr. Craggs? He already has it - EC 2, although I think he would take some persuading to part with it! Eric also owns EC 5 - both plates are excellent examples of two-initial dateless plates. Not so great on the wallet - but oh so very personal, and well worth the investment.

Happy birthday Eric!

Try National Numbers' initial number plates search to find your own perfect registration!

Saintly Choices for Private Registrations

When our lovely accounts/sales person, Andrea, isn't busy bringing smiles to the faces of countless private registration buyers and sellers, she also finds the time to run two successful Slimming World groups in Sedgefield and Billingham (details below).

To this end, a handful folks here at National Numbers have diligently followed Andrea's motivating and tasty eating plans, and have even made attempts to drag themselves off the couch and start going to the gym. As a result, some have shed a fair few pounds over the last six months, despite the usual holiday over-indulgences.

Amongst our more competitive sales people, watching the figures decrease every week has become something of a competition, with the scale revealing who amongst us has been a saint or a sinner.

Imagine my delight, while enjoying a chin-wag over the photocopier one morning, that two of Andrea's fellow Slimming World Consultants have invested in private registrations for their cars.

Where do people begin when choosing a private registration? Well, most people start by searching for registrations that include their name, initials; maybe their football team, or their favourite hobby. Innovatively, the svelte girls at Slimming World have pledged allegiance to their cause by choosing the unusual registrations S5 YNS (sounds like "Syns") and LE55 LBS (sounds like "less pounds").

What a fine example of camaraderie from a tightly-knit team, and a wonderfully inventive way to turn your car into a publicity vehicle: for "Syns" is a perfect reminder of Slimming World's daily allowance of treats – and few of us would mind having "less pounds"!

With motivation like that, there's fat chance of failure!

Have something to say? Say it with a private registration, on National Numbers' web site, 24 hours a day.

Andrea's Sedgefield group runs every Tuesday in the Community College at 7pm. Her Billingham group runs every Thursday in the Monkseaton Community Centre at 6.30pm. Details of Andrea's groups and programmes can be found on slimmingworld.co.uk or by calling Andrea on 01740 644727.

UK Roads Driving You Potty? That'll be the Jeep, the Chevrolet, and the Daewoo

Shockingly, UK drivers are paying more than 2.8 billion pounds a year on mechanical car repairs, thanks to the shoddy condition of UK roads, recent news from independent insurer Warranty Direct has revealed.

The research, conducted on nearly 500,000 vehicles – pinpoints decaying British roads as a major cause of up to a third of all mechanical break-downs.

Duncan McClure Fisher of Warranty Direct says: "continuous driving over cracked or uneven road surfaces, or one sudden jolt from a pothole, can cause substantial damage to shock absorbers, springs, upper and lower arms and stabiliser bars".

Not good news, especially when you consider that the UK road tax payer, despite loosely paying twice as much tax as folks in the USA, is still twice as likely to suffer damage to his or her car as a result of bad British roads.

Some cars are affected more than others. Top of the hit list are Jeep, Chevrolet, Daewoo, Jaguar, Kia, Subaru, Volvo, Suzuki, Chrysler, Honda and Nissan.

Still, despite suffering busted shock absorbers, springs, arms and stabiliser bars, you can rest assured a securely-fixed personalised number plate from National Numbers won't fall victim to potholes, and will look the business too. Number plates for all car makes and models are included in our easy-to-use number plate search. Give it a go!

EC 2 and Vintage Marshall Story from National Numbers

If you're interested in vintage cars and registrations, then read our new number plate story on EC 2 and the vintage Marshall on the National Numbers web site. It's all about our recent purchase of a very special registration: EC 2, and the fascinating tale behind the vintage Marshall car from which it came.

Check out the story (with pictures of the Marshall) and the history of the number plate and the Marshall (text kindly supplied by Bonhams).

Aston Martin Dominates Top Ten Dream Cars

The polls are in, and visitors to the DVLA's registrations web site have voted top British marque Aston Martin's beautiful cars as their favourites in an online poll designed to discover the nation's top ten dream cars.

The poll, which shows that the famous British car manufacturer is still very much a name synonymous with quality, is a classic example of the good old British patriotic spirit rising to the fore.

The Aston Martin appears in three places in the list of most desirables. At the top spot is the uncompromising Aston Martin DB9, a car that Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson dubbed "motoring perfection" - and I don't think that James Bond would dare to disagree! Aston Martin's previous flagship vehicle, the Vanquish, comes in at number three, and the hand-built Vantage at a modest number five.

Also featuring amongst the favourites are Italian beauties such as the Ferrari Enzo and Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.

The ubiquitous Porsche Carrera GT also pushes its sleek nose in at number 8.

If you're looking for a dream number plate for your dream car, I think National Numbers Car Number Plates search is the most comprehensive you'll find on the Internet.

There are thousands of quality number plates, all conveniently categorised: from Aston Martin to Yugo - you'll find number plates for the most popular makes and models listed all starting from as little as £49 and delivered to your door. Give it a try!

Number Plates 4 Geeks

You may have read in the news recently about the registration number L1NUX that's come up for sale on eBay.

The bidding started at £1000 for the registration number, which is available to buy for the first time since its release in 1993. The registration is popular: over the last three days, nearly 11,000 people have visited the L1NUX page, and 11 of have confirmed their alpha geekiness by placing a bid on the reg: taking its current value to £5,300.00.

Who knows how high the bidding in this online auction might climb? Those who know their BIOS from their DOS would likely welcome a number plate that makes a shush-shush statement subtly pointing to their geeky status. And whilst techies are typically a quiet and unassuming bunch, they often harbour a secret passion for some particular computer-related gadget or software – a personalised number plate might be just the ticket!

And for those who remember when Amazon was just a jungle, and Bluetooth was a painful condition brought on by an excess of ice cream, you might like to know that Linux is an alternative operating system you can use instead of Microsoft Windows. Its best feature is that it's mostly free – which may somewhat temper the bidding, as this bunch are typically heard crying, "liberate the software, man"!

So we will just have to wait and see what happens when the bidding ends in five days time. Until then, for all you lovely geek guys and gals, there are lots of computer, web, and gadget related registrations available to buy at National Numbers. Here are a few to whet your appetite:

WWW registrations	DOT registrations	LOL registrations
AJAX registrations	WTF registrations	VGA registrations
RGB registrations	PHP registrations	OMG registrations

We also have an entire page dedicated to all kinds of computing number plates, give them a whirl!

The Great Divide – Petrolhead vs. Eco-Warrior

What ever happened to the petrolheads who vamped up their cars for the purposes of being cool, living fast, and making a statement with (sometimes excessive) personalisation?

Youngsters passed their tests only to dash off down to the mod shop to kit up with the latest accessories for their beloved Ford Capri, Sierra Cosworth, or Golf GTI.

Whether it was something racy like a bonnet scoop or splitters, or something fluffy like – um – furry dice, virtually no youngster’s car was left bare of the latest auto styling. Times were free for petrolheads to indulge. And injudicious use of the accelerator was all part of the fun.

Not so nowadays. Today, government advisors tell us we need lessons in "eco-driving", in what seems like a covert attempt to curb our speed on the premise "the way you drive can be as important as what you drive, and how much you drive it". Less speed = less pollution.

There are a lot of us who would welcome eco-driving lessons. Being as green as possible is the new way to "keep up with the Joneses" – a cult of twenty-first century eco-yuppies battling to be the crowned the king and queen of green. And what better way to justify the sin of driving than being in receipt of a piece of paper branded "Green Driver"?

It would seem us drivers are being forced into two different camps, and are becoming more limited at every turn.

In order to determine whether driving faster really does create "significantly more" emissions, the BBC set a test. The results might see petrolheads crying into their Recaro seats: astonishingly, a third more carbon dioxide was created at a speed of 80mph than it was at 70mph!

Quite a figure. So it seems like the Eco-Warriors win this one. Still, there are more ways to make a statement than driving too fast. Your own private number plate would be a cheaper alternative: both for the environment and for your pocket.

Our Cheap Number Plates start at just £115 and we’re members of all the official bodies you’d expect of a number plate dealer over 25 years in the industry.

Private reg for Petrolheads
Speed Number Plates

Private reg for Eco-Warriors
Eco Number Plates

Is Your Driving Fuelled By Booze?

I hope not! But a few years down the line, it could be. Researchers at the University of Abertay, Dundee, are studying new ways to make biofuel (a renewable plant source of fuel) using the by-products of fermentation from the brewing and distilling industries.

The point of the research is to see if converting used grain from whiskey and beer into bioethanol – an ecologically sound alternative – is a viable fuel solution for cars.

If proved right and implemented, the fuel could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% over conventional petrol.

The research concludes in a year, so it will be interesting to see if the new biofuel promises to show up at our petrol stations some time soon.

I just hope the smell from the boozy fuel doesn’t raise suspicion from our sensitive-nosed traffic police. Can you imagine getting stopped and asked, "Have you been drinking Sir"?

"No, but the car has!"

National Numbers has a massive stock of registration numbers: about 8 million plates. Booze Hound or Eco Warrior; we’re sure to have a private plate to suit you. Try our Clever Search for great suggestions: you can enter anything you like!

A Number Plate For All Seasons

As I drifted to work this morning, up past Europe’s largest chemical complex, from the valley of Middlesbrough, and into leafy Billingham – I couldn’t ignore the sad circling of multi-hued amber to the pavement; and with this visual reminder of the eve of summer, I realised that autumn is now upon us. Indeed, the first leaves are starting their slow gather in the corners of gardens, and the air carries a faint linger of wood smoke. The darling children are already back to another year of learning.

It makes me wonder if the purchase of private number plates is influenced by the seasons? Are people inspired to buy registrations at particular times of year?

Might it be spring: when full-of-joy car owners dash to the newly-budded outdoors; loaded with armfuls of turtle wax and pine-fresh magic trees, to clean and make good their cherished car?

Might summer be the favourable time for number plate purchases? After all, it’s a great season to show off your motor by peeling down the soft top and taking a leisurely drive through the countryside, or parking up by the sea front to eat soft ice cream.

Or maybe winter’s the season: to put a wrap on choosing the perfect Christmas present for your loved one.

But never autumn: in this overlooked season, we only ever seem to use our cars to trudge back to work following our glorious summer holiday, or to ferry the kids to and fro from school. It all seems so very serious.

If you fancy a lift from the daily grind, try looking up your perfect private reg on our web site. You can type literally anything into our Number Plate Clever Search: some examples are your initials (HCD has a nice ring to it!), your nickname (NELLY), or even your favourite football team (there is a number plate for Macclesfield Town by the way)!

Hopefully you’ll be able to find yourself a number plate for all seasons!

Number Plates, Street View, and Privacy Issues

In the news this morning, fresh fears over privacy have been raised, but by two very separate incidents.

The first is a clamp down on car tax dodgers through Automatic Number Plate Recognition usage, in Wiltshire.

The second concerns ubiquitous search engine Google, which is changing its Street View privacy policy to ensure that imagery obscures faces and car number plates.

What is Street View? It’s Google’s new and fancy virtual street mapping tool that lets you virtually stroll the streets of the US as realistically as if you were there in the flesh.

It was only this very weekend that I was putting forward some concerns over Street View to NumberPlateGuy – as he was deftly demonstrating this new wonder of Internet technology – "what about people’s faces, and what about number plates!"

But Google didn’t reconsider their position on displaying faces and number plates off their own steam – the changes to Street View’s policy came about as a public reaction to concerns over privacy.

Anyhow, the technology has yet to be made available to the UK so we needn’t worry about Googler’s being able to view inside our houses, or peek at our number plates, just yet.

The person on the street might be concerned about having their number plate beamed out to millions of Google users, but if you owned private registration plates like L3 00K and P3 EKK, maybe you’d want to get some attention!

Thinking of Investing? Number Plates Are The Real Deal!

When it comes to investing your cash wisely, you could do far worse than putting your money where your personalised number plate is.

Driving to work this dazzling summer morning, Eric had a sighting from yore in the form of a number plate – a dateless registration (meaning it can be affixed to any vehicle regardless of age) with the suffix DD, on a King’s coach (King’s are a coach travel firm here in Middlesbrough).

Amazingly, this DD plate, and thousands of others just like it, were all available for the paltry figure of around £100 each 20 years ago – a quick DD number plate search on the National Numbers web site proves just how excellent an investment number plates can be – now these plates command a price far more bountiful; around £2500.

As I mentioned, Eric bought the plates for about £100 apiece, specifically for the King’s coach company. The chairman of National Numbers enlisted the services of a gentleman in Gloucester, who took a whole two years to fulfil the tailor-made order, scouring the county for the seven plates; most of which were found on Morris Minor cars. Finding the host cars for specific reg and canvassing the owners had to be done back in the day, as it just wasn’t possible to call a number plate dealer, or use a web site to buy reg – and there was no such thing as a retention certificate! *

Selling the plates on to King’s for £300 each delivered a tidy return for Eric, back in eighties. And it’s so nice to see the DD plates still in use on the coaches in Middlesbrough. The members of staff that have been with us for the 25 years since we founded are always looking out for the infamous Double D number plates that have proved such a delightfully delicious investment for our coach firm customer.

Even our customers agree. Our customer testimonials include accounts from folks whose plates have, at worst, retained the value; and at best, made them money, since they first purchased them.

Where to start? Try our clever search to find your own great investment, or browse through our DD number plates for ideas.

Or, if you’re interested to read more about investing in private number plates, our article Number Plates For Investment contains everything you need to know and also makes an interesting read!

* Retention certificates allow owners to remove registrations from their vehicle and "retain" them through a Certificate of Entitlement; they can then easily transfer UK registered plates between vehicles at their convenience.